Tag Archives: Italian

chorizo cabonara & catalan market salad

Posted on January 17, 2013 | 11 Comments

Let’s not tell Jay, but if I could have a second husband it would be Jamie Oliver. That Englishman can cook!

I stalk follow him on Twitter & Instagram and he recently posted this recipe, which of course I just had to emulate for dinner.

Give it a try; it’s pukka!

jamie

For the salad

  • 25 g pine nuts
  • 1 red chicory
  • 1 green chicory
  • 2 clementines
  • 100 g baby spinach
  • 4 sprigs of fresh mint
  • 45 g Manchego cheese
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon runny honey

For the pasta

  • 320 g dried penne
  • 70 g Iberico chorizo
  • ½–1 fresh red chilli
  • 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • olive oil
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 heaped tablespoons fat-free natural yoghurt

Method:

Ingredients out • Kettle boiled • Large frying pan, medium heat • Large lidded pan, high heat

START COOKING
Toast the pine nuts in the frying pan for a few minutes, tossing often • Put the pasta into the lidded pan, cover with boiling salted water and cook according to packet instructions • Finely slice the stalk ends of the chicory and click apart the upper leaves into a serving bowl • Peel and finely slice the clementines, add to the bowl with the baby spinach, then pick over the mint leaves • Shave over a tiny bit of Manchego and scatter with the hot nuts, returning the frying pan to a medium heat

In a cup, make your dressing with the vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and honey, then season to taste and put aside • Finely slice the chorizo, chilli and rosemary leaves and put into the frying pan with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of pepper, then squash in the unpeeled garlic through a garlic crusher and move everything around until lightly golden

Beat the egg, lemon juice, yoghurt and remaining finely grated Manchego together in a bowl • Drain the pasta, reserving a cupful of the starchy cooking water • Toss the pasta into the chorizo pan, remove from the heat and mix well with the creamy sauce, loosening with a splash of cooking water, if needed, then season to taste • Dress and toss the salad, then serve with the pasta

Serves 4

tuck in!

tuck in!

Recipe from Jamie Oliver online [here]. My pics.

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is this the best pizza ever? | +39 Pizzeria

Posted on June 13, 2012 | 3 Comments

the entrance on Little Bourke St

[via]

Pizza is my weakness. I’m referring to proper Italian pizza, not that tasteless cardboard Pizza Hut and Dominos peddle in the guise of “pizza”.

Over the last couple of years I’ve been slowly working my way through Sydney’s top 10 pizza restaurants (according to the SMH Good Food Guide) and I must say that although Number 3 on their list is Rosso Pomodoro in Balmain, in my heart (and tummy) it is Numero Uno!

Even though I’m in Melbourne, after last night’s perfectly paired pans, my heart has to make way for a new contender. Drum roll please…. +39 Pizzeria on Little Bourke Street.

Oh. My. Lord. it is good pizza. The perfect base; a crust that is crispy yet chewy with the beautifully imperfect shape that only hand spun dough can produce, cooked in a stone oven so it randomly leaves its charred fingerprints on the pizza lip. Topped with the minimalist of ingredients that are traditional, well-thought and executed.

the interior

[via]

last night’s blackboard

From a list of 17 pizza choices, this is what we had.

Starting with wine and an entree

the vino: Gran Sasso Montepulciano D’Abruzzo

Like all of their ingredients (I mean ALL including the waiters and down to the salt & pepper on the tables) the wine is Italian. It has a medium body & tannins and tastes of smoky leather and berries, similar to a young shiraz. It’s good!

Collezione Bruschette

The collection of three bruschetta are (L) porcine mushrooms, (M) cherry tomato, buffalo mozzarella & basil pesto and (R) cannellini bean puree with speck.

Diavola

The Diavola is a spicy pizza with Italian tomato salsa, Fior Di Latte (mild cow’s milk mozzarella-style cheese), salami & chilli. Jay & I both agree that the Diavola at Rosso Pomodoro is actually better, but the base on this one….wow!

Sole E Luna & Insalata Mista

The Sole E Luna is a half Calzone pizza filled with ham and Fior Di Latte & half Margherita pizza. I am in heaven! It is possibly the best pizza I’ve ever eaten (big call I know)! We also have the Insalata Mista which is mixed leaf salad with a citrus dressing. I don’t know why I get so excited over well dressed salad leaves but this salad is so divine!

Although their dessert menu looked amazing (house-made Tiramisu & cannoli, Nutella pizza with strawberries & a variety of gelato) we’re too full for dessert. Probably just as well, since I’m waaaaay over my calorie intake for the day! But for an extra couple of kilometers on the treadmill, it was totally worth it!

+39 Pizzeria | 362 Little Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
http://plus39.com.au/

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recipe | zucchini flower, mint and pecorino penne

Posted on April 12, 2012 | 2 Comments

I love a change of season! After a crappy wet summer, Autumn has bought Sydney clear blue skies, lots of sunshine (with only a few scattered storms) & temps in the low-mid 20°C’s.

Correspondingly, I love the change in seasonal produce. My local fruit & veg store is a hop, skip, jump away from me so I try to buy all my fresh produce there; it’s so much cheaper than the local supermarkets and surprisingly the weekend Growers Markets too (have you seen this sketch by the Brits? sooo funny!). Zucchini (aka green courgette) and their delicate little flowers are in season so what better dish to make than one with pasta al dente and a scattering of pecorino! Delish!

recipe by Emma Knowles via Australian Gourmet Traveller

zucchini flower, mint & pecorino penne

Serves 4
Cooking Time Prep time 10 mins, cook 10 mins

12 female zucchini flowers
80 ml (1/3 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ Spanish onion, thinly sliced
Finely grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
400 gm dried penne
1 cup (loosely packed) mint, coarsely torn
50 gm pecorino, finely grated, plus extra to serve

1 Detach zucchini flowers from baby zucchini. Tear flowers in half and thinly slice baby zucchini into rounds, then set aside.
2 Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, add zucchini flowers and cook until crisp (2-3 minutes), remove with a slotted spoon, drain on absorbent paper and set aside. Add garlic and onion to oil, sauté until tender (2-3 minutes), remove from heat, add lemon rind and juice, season to taste and set aside.
3 Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente (6-7 minutes), drain (reserve 2 tbsp pasta water). Return pasta and reserved pasta water to pan, add onion mixture, mint, pecorino and zucchini, season to taste and toss to combine. Serve scattered with zucchini flowers and extra pecorino.
Bon appetit!

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